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Originally posted by WindyCityBlue
You are very wrong, Little Rut. I moved to the Chicago area long after I established myself. I grew up in another state and worked many ball games before I chose to go to Professional Umpiring School. I lived in several states and travel all over the country. My experience is what I speak from, not listening to other's stories and attending camps. My Rookie ball partner heralded from a town of 180 people in Kentucky. One of my AA partners was from a small town in Canada, not exactly Cooperstown.
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OK, whatever you say.
Quote:
Originally posted by WindyCityBlue
My advice was solid, my opinion baseball based, positive and understood by the parties involved. The rest of this Board realizes that whenever you get flustered you mix up the facts and try to turn the dialogue to basketball and football. I prefer to stay on target and relate the facts. Good luck, but if I were you, I'd punt.
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No, I just am stating that talent is not the only thing you are judged by. Availability, talent and opportunity are all very important. Of course there is more, but these are at the top of my list. You can have all the talent in the world, but if you are never around a coach that anyone wants to listen to, you will not get that opportunity. If you are never around a fellow umpire that has worked that level, you might never see the opportunity. Of course you have to have talent, but you have to have someone that recognized it. And if all they see is a pitch or two, that does not mean they are going to put their career or opinion on the line because they think you are good. I know the assignor for Conference USA in Softball and he uses the information from other individuals to make many of his assignments. He has told people that he takes the advice from those that he trusts and might give them a chance. What if you never work in front of those guys that he trusts? I would think you do not work in that conference.
So yes, you can make this personal and try to call me names in your unprofessional way. All I am saying is that you need to be more than just talented to get opportunities. That is it and that is all. If you want to make this about me, do so. EMD or any umpire will not just get an opportunity if they sit on their hands and hope someone see them at some point. They still have to attend camps; they might just have to show interest. They also have to be given a shot in many cases without actually proving they can truly do the job. And my examples about the other sports are an illustration of how different baseball is. You will never get to the big time by hoping a coach will see you and they recommend you in the other sports.
Peace